August air show planned at Allentown airport

Airport board hopes to raise money and awareness in first event of its type since 1997.

March 26, 2013|By Matt Assad, Of The Morning Call

In search of more money and maybe some good news for a change, the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority is looking to the skies above the airport.

The authority members Tuesday agreed to host an August air show they hope will not only help the bottom line, but draw more than 15,000 people to an airport that is having trouble attracting passengers.

The Lehigh Valley Airshow, set for Aug. 24-25, would be the first local air show since 1997, and would include aerial acrobatics, an all-woman sky-diving team and access to an airfield full of planes.

Authority members expect to net at least a $30,000 profit from the show, but that's not the primary reason they're hosting it, said Tony Iannelli, authority chairman.

"Community events like this are not usually big profit-drivers," Iannelli said. "But it gives us exposure and it draws people to the airport at a time when we really want to remind them we're here."

It's also a chance to deliver good news by an authority that's had too few chances lately. As the airport is struggling to pay off the remaining $14 million of a $26 million court judgment against it for seizing a developer's property in the early 1990s, a difficult travel economy and high fuel prices have driven passenger levels to the lowest point in more than two decades.

The struggles led to layoffs in January and $1.5 million in service cuts to balance the 2013 airport budget.

The authority agreed Tuesday to add $283,000 to that budget to put on the air show, which is projected to bring in at least $315,000, said Lehigh Valley International Airport Executive Director Charles Everett Jr.

Mach 2 Management Inc. in Victor, N.Y., will run the show and the aerial entertainment will be headlined by 4CE Demonstration Team, four pilots who perform tricks in single-wing planes.

The admission for adults is tentatively set at $15, but tickets bought in advance and for children will be cheaper.

The Iron Eagle Aerobatic Team and the Misty Blues sky-diving team are also expected to appear. Everett said the airport would remain open, with passenger flights taking off in between aerial shows.

"Actually, the commercial flights would be considered part of the show," Everett said. "People don't often get this kind of close contact with aircraft and pilots."

Lots of planning is yet to be done to arrange parking, set up a security plan and prepare the airport for the arrival for what could be more than 10,000 people each day.

The only air show held in the Lehigh Valley was in 1997 at LVIA. It cost $200,000 to put on, and when it lost money, plans to make it an annual event were scrapped.

Everett is convinced that won't happen this time. The projected revenues include $50,000 in sponsorship fees from corporations that will include Sands casino in Bethlehem.

And while the airport is disappointed that the federal budget cuts from the sequestration could force LVIA's control tower to close at midnight, Everett said there is a silver lining. Because the FAA cuts will ground the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds aerial team, and the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, several military air shows have been canceled. Everett said that opens the door for airports, like LVIA, with civilian air shows.

"There won't be as many air shows this summer, so we think we can attract people from across eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey," Everett said. "We think it will be a big draw."